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Influence of artificial selection for duration of death feigning on pre- and post-copulatory traits in male Tribolium castaneum

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Abstract

In many animals, investment in anti-predator traits can affect reproductive success. Conversely, males that invest more resources in mating success may have relatively fewer resources to devote to anti-predator traits, leading to increased predation risk. Although previous studies have reported a trade-off in investment between anti-predator traits and reproductive traits in male animals, few studies have specifically investigated the effects of anti-predator behavior on male reproductive traits. Many animals engage in death-feigning as an anti-predator behavior. Herein, we investigated the relationship between the death-feigning behavior and pre- and post-copulatory reproductive traits of male red flour beetles, Tribolium castaneum. In a previous study, we used artificial selection to establish T. castaneum strains with a genetically longer (L-strain) or shorter (S-strain) duration of death-feigning behavior. In the present study, we compared the attractiveness (a pre-copulatory trait) and paternity success (a post-copulatory trait) between L- and S-strain males. The results showed no significant difference in attractiveness or paternity success between the two strains. The results suggest that death-feigning behavior is not correlated with pre- or post-copulatory reproductive traits in male T. castaneum.

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Acknowledgement

This work was supported by a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (KAKENHI 26291091 and 18H02510, Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology) to T. M.

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  1. Graduate School of Environmental and Life Science, Okayama University, Okayama, Japan

    Kentarou Matsumura & Takahisa Miyatake

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  1. Kentarou Matsumura
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  2. Takahisa Miyatake
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Correspondence to Kentarou Matsumura.

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K. Matsumura and T. Miyatake declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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All applicable international, national, and institutional guidelines for the care and use for animals were followed.

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Matsumura, K., Miyatake, T. Influence of artificial selection for duration of death feigning on pre- and post-copulatory traits in male Tribolium castaneum. J Ethol 37, 265–270 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10164-019-00596-4

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